1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention is that of weapon aiming sights having a light intensifier.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is of paramount importance for a soldier to maintain very good mobility in all mission situations and particularly when he is moving around in an urban environment. When a soldier is aiming his weapon, he may become a potential target. To obviate this drawback, a video camera is placed on the barrel of the weapon, this camera being, for example of the CCD (charge coupled device) sensor type. This camera is coupled either to a helmet sight positioned on the soldier's helmet, or to an imager positioned for example on his wrist. This device allows the soldier to take a shifted sight of the target and consequently allows him to fire while remaining protected. However, the firing configuration most often used nevertheless remains that in which the soldier takes direct aim of the target with the naked eye. The camera must therefore be sufficiently small and shifted away from the line of sight so as not to impede this conventional firing configuration. This configuration is illustrated in FIG. 4, which shows a perspective view of the weapon/camera system. The line of sight 100 of the camera 1 is shifted away from the line of sight 200 of the soldier so as to provide him with a correct sight without being impeded by the camera.
For carrying out night missions, it is conventional to fit a night vision sight on the weapon. This sight generally comprises at least one objective, a light intensifier device and an eyepiece. The objective forms an image of the external scenery on the entrance window of the intensifier device. This comprises three main parts: a first photosensitive surface, which converts the optical image into an electronic image; an electron amplifier, which amplifies the electronic image; and a second surface that converts the electronic image into an amplified light image. Thus, the image of the external scenery is amplified, then collimated to infinity by the eyepiece before finally being observed by the soldier. In this case, the image provided by the camera is of course lost, the light levels being too low to allow a correct image with current sensors. Thus the security provided by the camera during daytime missions is lost. It should be recalled that the soldier may be pinpointed at night by combatants that have either light intensifier binoculars or thermal cameras.